Malaysia to spend $12.1m to repair homes damaged by gas pipeline inferno in Selangor

SUBANG, Selangor – The Malaysian government has allocated RM40 million (S$12.1 million) for repairing and rebuilding dozens of homes damaged in a

huge

gas pipeline explosion in Selangor,

even as investigations into the April 1 incident continue.

Homes that suffered more than 40 per cent damage and require reconstruction will receive up to RM300,000 each for construction costs, while those that do not require reconstruction will have up to RM150,000.

Homes that are less than 40 per cent damaged will receive up to RM30,000 each.

Reconstruction work will begin this week in the Taman Putra Harmoni estate, starting with homes within a 100m radius of the blast site.

Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming said on April 30 that the RM40 million will come from the National Disaster Relief Housing Fund.

“The government, through the fund, will allocate RM40 million for repairs and reconstruction of the affected Putra Heights houses. This is an unprecedented and most comprehensive repair and reconstruction work ever carried out by the federal government,” he said at a news conference.

“It will be a strategic collaboration with the private sector, and those who contribute will be given tax exemptions as an incentive for more parties to lend a helping hand.”

The government has also allocated an additional RM6 million for road and infrastructure repairs.

A ruptured Petronas gas pipeline resulted in a huge inferno shooting up dozens of metres into the air in Taman Putra Harmoni, in the residential district of Putra Heights.

The intense heat from the fire, which lasted for seven hours, rose as high as 1,000 deg C, officials said.

Some 455 people were forced to flee the housing estate. A total of 150 people were injured, many of them with second- and third-degree burns.

Of the 219 homes damaged, 81 were completely destroyed and 138 were substantially damaged, said Selangor police chief Hussein Omar Khan.

Neither the federal nor the Selangor state government has identified the cause of the incident. But people have alleged on social media that an excavator was seen digging in the area the day before the explosion.

The route of the buried gas pipeline was clearly demarcated with fencing.

Both the federal and Selangor governments are led by the Pakatan Harapan alliance helmed by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari said at the April 30 news conference that a report on the explosion is expected to be finalised in a month.

At a media visit to ground zero on April 30, Commissioner Hussein said investigations have been hampered by heavy rain in the past few weeks, delaying digging work where the pipe rupture occurred.

“It takes us half a day to pump out the rainwater from the hole. Then we also need to make sure the ground is stable before we can continue our excavating work,” he said.

“So far, we have removed 16m of the pipeline that blew up, so Petronas and (the Department of Occupational Safety and Health) can study the pipe and find out what happened.”

Datuk Hussein said investigators would also need to dig up two parallel gas pipelines to study their structural integrity and compare them with the damaged pipeline.

Recalling the incident on April 1, Taman Putra Harmoni Residents’ Association deputy chairman Francis Koh told The Straits Times that he was about to walk his dog when the explosion happened. He could not believe his eyes when he saw the fireball, which was about 300m away from his house.

Mr Koh, 56, ran back into his house and told his wife and three children to vacate their home. His daughter tossed their dog into his wife’s car, while his son rescued their cats.

The unit trust consultant and his family are now staying in a rented condominium in the nearby Puchong township.

About 40 per cent of his home has been badly damaged, and he estimated that his total loss of property, covering his house, household items and cars, is around RM200,000.

“We do appreciate and are grateful for the government’s assistance. However, I urge the government to consider helping the affected victims in terms of medical fees, our damaged cars, associated items such as solar panels and our household goods,” said Mr Koh.

“We’re basically left with almost nothing.”